Millennium Signs 125 KSF Lease, Jumpstarting $630M Boston Project

Millennium Partners has just landed a commitment that paves the way for the commencement of the Millennium Tower/Burnham Building project, the company's $630 million redevelopment of the former Filene's Department Store site in downtown Boston.

Millennium Partners has just landed a commitment that paves the way for the commencement of the Millennium Tower/Burnham Building project, the company’s $630 million redevelopment of the former Filene’s Department Store site in downtown Boston. Arnold Worldwide and Havas Media, subsidiaries of Havas Advertising, have signed on for 125,000 square feet of first-class office space in the historic 200,000-square-foot Burnham building.

Millennium said it believes Arnold and Havas will be right at home in the Burnham Building; it will put the companies in a burgeoning hub of the city that is fast becoming a neighborhood of collaborative and creative companies.

“It’s a top, dead-center location on four rapid transit lines in a vibrant downtown scene that attracts a young and energetic new employment workforce, a workforce in the new world that merges social media and creative technology,” Anthony Pangaro, principal at Millennium Partners/Boston, told Commercial Property Executive.

With the lease agreement in hand, Millennium will begin work on the renaissance of the century-old Burnham Building, which holds the distinction of being the only property in Boston that was designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham. Upon completion, the office tower will also feature approximately 135,000 square feet of retail space.

Arnold and Havas turned to commercial real estate services firm Cassidy Turley for representation in the lease transaction, while Millennium relied on the property’s exclusive office leasing agent CB Richard Ellis – N.E. Partners L.P. Millennium trusts that with the Millennium deal in place, users will be drawn to the 75,000 square feet of available office accommodations at the Burnham Building like bees to honey.

“We believe that the remaining space will be the subject of even more heightened interest by those who want to be in good company in a great building which is part of the new Downtown energy,” Pangaro said.

Arnold, which will maintain its global headquarters in the Burnham Building, and Havas are scheduled to set up shop in their new digs in September 2014.

For the sections of Boston that entice the creative types, the future looks promising. As noted in Cassidy Turley’s fourth quarter 2012 report, “Progressive, collaborative and growing quickly, most of these firms must be centrally located if they want to attract and retain the best talent.”

And Beantown’s office market in general is on the upswing, according to Pangaro. “The confluence of so many highly innovative companies and research institutions clustered in a fascinating urban environment contribute to demand for office space in Boston.”

At Millennium’s Millennium Tower/Burnham Building, when all is said and done, the approximately 1 million-square-foot project will also offer an additional 95,000 square feet of retail space beneath 450 luxury residences in the Millennium Tower. The premier development will be a live-work-play destination.

“The Mayor’s vision for Downtown Boston provided a superb planning framework and high neighborhood self-confidence for the Millennium Tower/Burnham project,” Pangaro added. “The execution of real estate projects within these parameters is more timely and of higher quality as a result.”